This morning (31 March) Reach announced that Mullen would be leaving the board with immediate effect.

Chief revenue officer Piers North has been appointed as the new CEO, also with immediate effect, and joins the main board.

Mullen became CEO in August 2019 and has overseen significant restructuring and job losses since, as the group developed its digital offering on the back of its print operations.

He will remain with the PLC for a short handover period.

Mullen commented: “"I'll be taking on the role of group chief executive of The Jockey Club from 1 June, but I will continue to champion the importance of free-to-access news and the Daily Record football coverage from the sidelines, and I wish everyone the best.”

North started his career as a digital journalist in the late 1990s and then spent nearly ten years at Yahoo! UK in increasingly senior roles, before joining the then-Trinity Mirror as strategy director in 2014.

He said: “It's a huge honour to lead Reach as we continue to serve essential journalism to our audiences and to move forward with our digital evolution.

“I look forward to working even more closely with all of the talented colleagues I have already been fortunate enough to work with over my 10 years here.”

Reach owns 120 brands and print titles including the Mirror, Daily Star, OK! and Manchester Evening News.

It announced preliminary results for 2024 earlier this month, with group sales down 5.3% to £538.6m, while operating profit was up 6% to £102.3m. Print made up the lion’s share of revenues, down 7.3% at £406.7m.

Shares in Reach slipped by 6.49% on the news to 70.88p (52-week high: 112.80p, low: 67.50p).